Door closer



Dec. 12, 1967l R.\D. MaCDONALD v3,357,040

DOOR CLOSER Filed March l0, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,47- TOAPA/fys Dec.12, 1967 R. D. MaCDoNALD 3,3575040 DOOR CLOSER Filed March l0, 1965 l y3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR @05E/Pr Q MAfoA/Aw Dec. l2, 1967 R. D.MacDoNALD DOR CLOSER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March l0, 1965 y/ AvINVENTOR MM50/mw /DaE/Pr BY v Tram/5K5 United States Patent GfticePatented Dec.` l2, 1967 3,357,040 DOR CLSER Robert D. MacDenaid, Adrian,Mich., assigner to Cardinal of Adrian, Inc., a corporation of MichiganFiled lviar. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 438,515 8 Claims. (Cl. 11S- 51) ABSTRACTF THE DISCLOSURE A door closer of a compact and relatively maintenancefree design is provided. The closer employs a circular flexible tubewith liquid therein and with the tube having a passage and a restrictionthrough which liquid is forced by a pressure roller when the door isopened and closed. The roller is positioned relatively near therestriction in one direction around the tube t-han in the otherdirection so that the tube can expand more when the door is opened thanwhen the door is closed. In this manner, a greater resistance to closingmovement of the door results than to opening movement of the door. Thedoor closer also has a unique compact construction in which the liquidtube, pressure roller, and spring are compactly located in a generallyconcentric relationship.

This invention relates to a door closer and more particularly to animproved rotary type door closer.

Door clOsers are well known in the art and various types date back manyyears. Rotary type door closers have been found to be particularlyadvantageous because they can be made smaller than the usual piston typeand have less tendency to obstruct the door opening. Further, there isno greasy piston rod to soil clothing.

Rotary type door closets, however, are used comparatively little becauseof various operating difficulties. One problem in such closers is oilleakage which is common because of the various seals required betweenthe moving parts to hold in the oil used to dampen movement of the door.The seals also are particularly vulnerable to wear due to the rotarymotions involved. Rotary door closers tend to be more expensive than theusual piston or linear type because they require complex parts and aconsiderable amount of machining, as well as close tolerances. Therotary closers also are frequently diicult to adjust and to set in amanner to obtain desired opening and closing operations and motions.With such closers, for example, the door can close sharply if it is veryquickly opened and released.

The present invention relates to a rotary door closer having manyadvantages over those heretofore known. Besides having all of theadvantages of rotary type door closers, the new closer also includes asealed oil unit or ring which eliminates all seals between moving parts,thereby eliminating leaks. The new rotary closer also is relativelyinexpensive, requiring a minimum number of machining operations. The newcloser also is capable of controlling the opening and closing of a doormore eiectively than those heretofore known. The closer enables the doorte be opened with minimum resistance. In one embodiment of theinvention, the closer also relieves the damping action on the doorimmediately prior to latching so that most of the power of the closingspring can be used to close the door without resistance during the lastsmall portion of the closing motion.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide animproved rotary type door closer without any tuid seals between movingparts.

Another object of the invention is to door closer which is morereliable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotary provide arotary door closer which enables the door to be opened withoutsubstantial restriction and to close tightly without substantialresistance, yet effectively dampen the closing motion of the door.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof,reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. l is a view in perspective of a door closer embodying the inventionand shown attached to a doorjamb and a door, which is shown in apartially opened position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top View of the closer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a View in vertical cross section taken along the line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view in vertical cross section taken along the line 4 4 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view in horizontal cross section taken along the line 5-5 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view in perspective of the closer according to theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a detailed view in cross section taken along the line 7-7 ofFIG. 3; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic views in horizontal section through slightlymodified closers.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1, a door closer 10 according to theinvention is shown attached to a doorjamb 1.2 and a door 14 which isshown partly open. While the closer 10 is shown attached to anintermediate part of the jamb and door, it can also be attached at ahigher or a lower point. The closer 1G is quite compact and has nogreasy piston rod which moves into and out of the closer.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 2-4, the closer 16 basicallyincludes a lower member 16 and an upper member 18 which are connected inrotatable relationship, with the lower member `16 supported by a mainbracket 20 and the upper member 13 connected through an integral arm 22and a link 24 to .a second bracket 26. As shown, the main bracket 29 isattached to the door 14 and the second bracket 26 is attached to thedoorjamb 12. It is to be understood, however, that the closer 10 can beused with the attachments reversed.

The lower closer member 16 includes an outer wall 28 of generallyhemispherical configuration and a central upstanding post 30 forming anannular chamber 32 therebetween. The post 30 extends upwardly beyond theupper member 13 land terminates in a non-circular or generallyrectangular neck 34 which is received in a non-circular opening 36 ofsimilar shape in the main bracket 20. The post 30 is then affixed to thebracket 20 by a suitable fastener 3.8, such as a machine screw, threadedinto a central opening or recess 40 in the post 30.

The upper member 19 has a downwardly-extending cylinder or annularprojection 42 with a central opening 44 through which the post 30extends, and an upper notch 46 (FIG. 4) which receives an axle 4S of apressure member or roller 5G. The cylinder 42 also has alongitudinallyextending slot 52 into which a portion of the roller 50can protrude. The lower end of the axle 48 for the roller 50 is received-in a recess 54 formed in an annular plastic bearing ring 56 which alsohas a projection 58 extending into the cylinder slot 52, with theprojection 58 and the slot 52 cooperating to hold the cylinder 42 andthe ring 56 in non-rotatable relationship. The ring 56, however, rotatesrelative to the lower member 16, being movably held in an annular recess60 of the chamber 32.

The upper member 18 also has an upper neck 62 eX- tending toward themain bracket 20 with a plastic washer 64 therebetween, the washer 64having a flange 66 spacing apart the post 36 and the neck 62. The flange66 has a notch 68 and the neck 62 also has a notch 70 to receive anupper end 72 of a spiral spring 74, a lower end 76 of which is receivedin a recess 78 at the bottom of the lower member 16. The spring 74 isstressed when the door is opened and the two closer members 16 and 18rotate relative to one another, thereby urging the door toward theclosed position.

A second plastic bearing ring 80 is located at the upper edge of thelower closer member 16 and has an annular ange 82 extending between themembers, the flange having an outward slope to repel water. The bearingring 80 has shallow ears 84 (FIG. 6) received in shallow recesses 86 ofthe wall 28 to retain the ring in non-rotatable relationship withrespect to the lower member 16. The cylinder 42 is rotatably supportedby the ring 80 so that the cylinder 42 of the upper member actuallyconstitutes an axle which is rotatably held by the bearing rings 56 and80. The annular iiange 66 at the neck 62 also serves as a bearing ringbetween the post 30 and the upper closer member 18.

A main annular groove 88 is formed by the wall 28 and a portion of thesecond bearing ring 80 and an endless, deformable, iiexible tube orhollow damping member 90 is located in the groove 88. Referring to FIGS.3-6, the tube basically includes a generally annular passage 92 havingan orifice or restriction 94. A raised portion 96 of the upper portionof the tube adjacent the orifice 94 is contoured to the shape of thelower surface of the bearing ring 80 so as to be backed up fully by thering 80. The lower surface of the bearing portion 94 is recessed, thepurpose of which will be subsequently apparent. While the specicconstruction of the tube 90 does not constitute a part of the invention,as shown, the tube 90 has annular flanges 98 and 100 which are securelysealed together by a metal clamping ring 102 to maintain the passage 92sealed. The passage contains liquid 104 which can be oil or othersuitable liquid.

The size of the orifice or restriction 94 can be controlled by a taperedcontrol body 106 (FIGS. 3, 6 and 7) located in the groove 88 below theorifice 94. The body 106 tapers in both directions from the center (FIG.7) so as to t more effectively with the recessed portion of the tubebelow the restriction. The body 106 thereby also holds the tube 90 inposition and prevents it from slipping in the main groove 88. A recess108 (FIGS. 3 and 7) is formed centrally in the bottom of the body 106 toreceive a rounded end 110 of a control screw 112 located in a threadedpassage 114 of the lower closer member 16. The screw 112 can becontrolled externally and can be turned into the passage 114 to move thebody 106 toward the tube 90 and thereby reduce the restriction 94.Similarly, the screw 112 can be turned in the opposite direction toenlarge the restriction.

The operation of the closer will now be described in detail. As the door14 is opened, the connecting link 24 will move in a clockwise direction,as shown in FIG. 2, and at the same time the arm 22 will move in acounterclockwise direction, moving the upper closer member 18 in thesame direction. This causes the neck 62 and the cylinder 42 to pivotrelative to the post 30 and the lower closer member 16, by virtue of theange 66, the main bearing ring 80, and the lower bearing ring 56. As thecylinder 42 moves, it similarly moves the axle 48 and the roller 50,along with the lower bearing ring 56. The roller 50 thereby moves in anarcuate path the center of which, in this instance, is concentric withor superimposed on the center of curvature of the tube 90. The roller 50is constantly in contact with the tube 90 and squeezes it to the shapeshown in FIG. 5, so that the deformed portion of the passage 92 isvirtually closed.

As the roller 50 moves in a counterclockwise direction in its arcuatepath as the door is opened, it forces the liquid 104 in the samedirection and reduces the volume of the passage existing between theroller 50 and the restriction 94 in the longer leg of the tube,extending through an arc of about 270 as the door is opened. With theliquid 104 filling the passage 92, the portion of the liquid trappedbetween the roller and the restriction will tend to expand the tubesomewhat as well as being forced through the restriction. Hence, thetube offers less resistance to the movement of the roller 50 than if allof the liquid were forced immediately through the restriction.Consequently, the closer offers less resistance to relative movementbetween the closer members 16 and 18 and less resistance to the openingof the door. The resistance increases somewhat as the roller approachesthe restriction 94 through the long leg of the tube 90 but in the normalopening and closing of most doors, the roller never reaches a pointbeyond a point roughly diametrically opposite to the restriction 94.

As the door is opened, and the closer members 16 and 18 move relative tolone another, the spring 74 is stressed, tending to be unwound, asshown. Hence, after the door 14 is opened and released, the spring 74forces the door toward its original, closed position. As the door movestoward the closed position, the roller 50 moves in a clockwisedirection, toward the restriction 94 along the shorter leg of the tube.As the roller approaches the restriction, and the distance between themdecreases, proportionally more of the liquid is forced through therestriction since there is less of the tube to expand under the pressureof the liquid. Thus, the resistance to the closing of the door increasesas the door closes, thereby providing an increased damping force to theclosing of the door. With the roller positioned closer to therestriction through one leg of the tube than the other when the door isclosed, somewhat less damping action or resistance is afforded to theopening of the door than to the closing ofthe door.

By turning in the control screw 112, the restriction 94 can be decreasedso that the liquid ows more slowly through the orifice under the forceof the roller. Oppositely, by turning outwardly the screw 112, the sizeof the restriction is increased and the damping effect is decreased.

It may be noted that the initial stress on the spring 74 and, hence, theclosing force which the spring can exert on the door, can be controlledby loosening the screw 38 suiciently to ymove the non-circular neck 34below the bracket 20 and then turning the lower closer member 16 one ormore half-turns in either direction. The neck 34 is then re-inserted inthe opening 36 and the screws 38 tightened.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-7, the tube 90 issubstantially circular with a xed radius and the roller 50 travels in anarcuate path, the center of which is at the center of the radius of thetube. In FIG. 8, the roller 50 is carried by a slightly modifiedcylinder 116 which is not concentric with the tube but is mounted on theupper closer member 18 so as to be eccentric with respect to the tube90. In this manner, the roller will move in an arcuate path shown indotted lines between opened and closed positions designated such, withthe path being eccentric with respect to the curvature of the tube. Withthe cylinder 116 positioned as shown in FIG. 8, the roller will tend tomove away from. the tube just before the door shuts, so that therestriction on the liquid in the tube tends to be released somewhatbefore the door shuts and the damping effect of the roller and tube aresubstantially decreased at this point. This enables the force of thespring to be exerted more fully on the door and to provide maximumclosing force at this point. Hence, extra force needed to close the doorand overcome the resistance of the latch at this point is therebyprovided.

In FIG. 9, the cylinder 42 and the roller 50 are located generally atthe center of curvature of a tube 118 but the tube in this instance isnot circular. Rather, the tube 118 is provided with a slightly divergingor extended portion which diverges from the path of the roller at apoint just before the door reaches the closed position. Again, theroller and the tube tend to be separated just before the door closes sothat the full closing force of the spring can be exerted on the door.

Various modifications of the above described embodiments of theinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to beunderstood that such modifications can be made without departing fromthe scope of the invention, if they are within the spirit and the tenor`ofthe accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A door closer comprising a housing delining a charnber, means forattaching said housing to one of a door and a door jamb, an endlessflexible tube in said chamber said tube having an arcuate portion of apredetermined radius, iuid in said tube, a pressure member movable in anarcuate path, said member being capable of engaging and deforming atleast a portion of said tube in at least a portion of said path, an arm,means for attaching said arm to the other of said door jamb and saiddoor, means connecting said arm and said pressure member to move saidpressure member in its path as the door is opened and closed, the pathterminating at one end when the door is in its open position andterminating at the other end when the door is in its closed position,means associi ated with said door for urging the door toward the closedposition, and means forming a restriction insaid tube with the length ofthe tube between said tube portion and said restriction in one directionaround said tube substantially exceeding the length of the tube betweensaid tube portion and said restriction in the other direction at leastwhen the door is closed and partially opened, said one direction beingthe same as the direction said pressure member moves in its path as thedoor is opened, whereby when the pressure member moves toward saidrestriction when the door is moved toward the closed position, mostfluid is forced through said restriction, whereas when the pressuremember moves away from said restriction when the door is moved towardthe open position, fluid torced through the tube by said pressure memberhas a greater tendency to expand that portion of said tube between thepressure member and said restriction in said one direction around saidtube to provide less resistance to movement of the door when beingopened than when being closed.

2. A door closer for controlling opening and closing movements of a doorrelative to a door jamb, said closer comprising a housing defining acylindrical chamber including a closed bottom and an open top, means forattaching said housing to one of the door and the door jamb with theaxis of the chamber being vertically disposed, a curved, deformable,endless tube in said chamber capable of returning to its originalposition and shape after deformation, said tube having a predeterminedradius, liquid in said tube, a pressure roller in said cham ber movablein an arcuate path lying in the center of said tube and in the plane ofsaid tube, with the path having a radius less than the radius of saidtube, the path of said pressure roller enabling said roller to engageand deform said tube through at least a portion of the path, an armpivotally supported by said housing, means for attaching an outer end ofthe said arm to the other of said jamb and said door, means connectingsaid arm and said pressure roller to move said pressure roller in saidpath when the door is opened and closed and the end of said arm ispivoted, a coil spring around said arm connecting means and having oneend connected to said arm connecting means and the other end connectedto said housing, said spring urging the door toward the closed positionfor all positions of the door, and means forming a restriction in saidtube in a position such that the length of the tube between saidrestriction and the tube portion engaged by said pressure roller in onedirection exceeds the length in the other direction, said one directionbeing the same as the direction said pressure roller moves in its pathas the door is opened, said connecting means causing said pressureroller to force liquid in said tube toward said restriction as the doormoves toward the closed position from the opened position to resist theclosing movement of the door, and to force liquid both to partly expandthe tube and to flow through said restriction in the opposite directionas the door is moved toward the opened position, to produce lessresistance when the door is opened.

3. A door closer according to claim 2 wherein said restriction formingmeans in said tube is a thick wall portion of said tube reducing thesize of the liquid passage therein.

4. A door closer for controlling opening and closing movements of a doorrelative to a door jamb, said closer comprising a housing defining achamber, imeans for attaching said housing to one of the door and thedoor jamb with the chamber being vertically disposed, ahermetically-sealed, expandable deformable tube in said chamber `capableof returning to its original positionand shape after deformation, saidtube having a predetermined radius, liquid in said tube, a pressuremember in said chamber movable in an arcuate path lying in the plane ofsaid tube with the path having a radius less than the radius of saidtube, the path of said pressure member enabling said member to engageand deform said tube through at leasta portion of the path, an armpivotally supported by said housing, means for attaching an outer end ofthe said arm to the other of said jamb and said door, means connectingsaid anm and said pressure member to move said pressure member in saidpath when the door is opened and closed and the end of said arm ispivoted, a spring urging the door toward the closed position for allpositions of the door, means forming a restriction in said deformabletube in a position such that the distance along said tube between therestriction and the point of engagement by said pressure member in onedirection exceeds the distance along the tube between said restrictionand thev point of engagement in the other direction for at least mostpositions of the door, including the closed position, with said pressuremember moving along its path away from said restriction as the door isopened and toward said restriction as the door is closed, whereby theresistance to movement of the door is greater as the door moves towardthe closed position than when the door moves toward the open position.

5. A door closer comprising an endless, hollow damping member disposedin a predetermined position, said damping member being expandable andforming a fluid passage throughout most of its length, fluid in saidmember, means supporting said damping irnember in the position, meansfor attaching said supporting means to one of a door and a door jamb, apressure member movable in a path such that said pressure member engagesand deforms a portion of said tube when moving along the path, meansconnecting said pressure member to the other of the door and the doorjamb to cause said pressure member to move along the path when the dooris opened and closed, said pressure member deforming said damping membersuiciently to completely close said iiuid passage When moving along atleast a substantial portion of the path, and means forming a restrictionin said damping member at a portion such that said restriction is closerto said pressure member along said damping member in one direction thanin the other direction for substantially all positions of said pressuremember in said path, said pressure member being positioned to movetoward said restriction when the door is moved toward a closed positionand away from said restriction when the door is moved toward the openedposition, with more of said damping member being available for expansionas the fluid is forced through the passage toward the restriction whenthe door is opened so that less resistance is aiorded to the door whenmoving toward the open position.

6. A closer according to claim 5 characterized by means controllablefrom outside said closer for varying the size of said restriction.

7. A door closer comprising a tirst closer member forming a chamber andhaving an upstandiug post, a bracket attached to said member andattachable to one of a door and a door jamb for holding said member in afixed position relative to said one of said door and door jamb, a secondcloser member having an arm and an annular projection extending aroundsaid post and forming an annular space therebetween, a spring having oneend received by said irst member and the other e'nd received by saidsecond member, said spring being stressed when said members rotaterelative to one another, means connecting said arm to the other of saiddoor and said door jamb, a flexible, endless tube in said chamberoutside said annular projection and backed up by a wall of said rstmember, means forming a restriction in said tube, a pressure memberrollably engageable with said tube, and means rotatably connecting saidpressure member to said second annular projection for moving saidpressure member in a pretermined path when said second closer member isrotated relative to the first one'.

8. A door closer comprising a housing dening a chamber, means forattaching said housing to one of a door and a door jamb, a tiexible tubein said chamber, said tube having an arcuate portion of a predeterminedradius, tluid in said tube, a pressure member movable in an arcuatepath, said member being capable of engaging and deforming a portion ofsaid tube in a portion of said path, means for connecting said pressuremember to the other of said door jamb and said door to move saidpressure member in its path as the door is opened and closed, saidconnecting means establishing the arcuate path for said pressure memberwhich is of a predetermined radius less than the radius of said arcuateportion of said tube, withthe center of the arcuate path of the pressuremember being disposed to one side of the center of the arcuate portionof said exible tube, the respective centers of said path and said tubebeing positioned so that said pressure member engages said tubethroughout a substantial portion of its path when the door is movedbetween its opened and closed positions with said member placing less'pressure on said tube when thev door is closed and almost closed thanfor other positions of the door so that some tluid can escape past thepoint of engagement of the tube and the' member when the door is closedand almost closed, means associated with the door for urging the doortoward the closed position, and means forming a restriction in said tubethrough which the uid in said tube is forced by said member whenV in theportion of its path in which said tube is fully engaged, with substantially less iluid being forced through said restriction by said pressuremember when the door is closed and almost closed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner,

1. A DOOR CLOSER COMPRISING A HOUSING DEFINING A CHAMBER, MEANS FORATTACHING SAID HOUSING TO ONE OF A DOOR AND A DOOR JAMB, AN ENDLESSFLEXIBLE TUBE IN SAID CHAMBER SAID TUBE HAVING AN ARCUATE PORTION OF APREDETERMINED RADIUS, FLUID IN SAID TUBE, A PRESSURE MEMBER MOVABLE INAN ARCUATE PATH, SAID MEMBER BEING CAPABLE OF ENGAGING AND DEFORMING ATLEAST A PORTION OF SAID TUBE IN AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID PATH, AN ARM,MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID ARM TO THE OTHER OF SAID DOOR JAMB AND SAIDDOOR, MEANS CONNECTING SAID ARM AND SAID PRESSURE MEMBER TO MOVE SAIDPRESSURE MEMBER IN ITS PATH AS THE DOOR IS OPENED AND CLOSED, THE PATHTERMINATING AT ONE END WHEN THE DOOR IS IN ITS OPEN POSITION ANDTERMINATING AT THE OTHER END WHEN THE DOOR IS IN ITS CLOSED POSITION,MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DOOR FOR URGING THE DOOR TOWARD THE CLOSEPOSITION, AND MEANS FORMING A RESTRICTION IN SAID TUBE WITH THE LENGTHOF THE TUBE BETWEEN SAID TUBE PORTION AND SAID RESTRICTION IN ONEDIRECTION AROUND SAID TUBE SUBSTANTIALLY EXCEEDING THE LENGTH OF THETUBE BETWEEN SAID TUBE PORTION AND SAID RESTRICTION IN THE OTHERDIRECTION AT LEAST WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED AND PARTIALLY OPENED, SAIDONE DIRECTION BEING THE SAME AS THE DIRECTION SAID PRESSURE MEMBER MOVESIN ITS PATH AS THE DOOR IS OPENED, WHEREBY WHEN THE PRESSURE MEMBERMOVES TOWARD SAID RESTRICTION WHEN THE DOOR IS MOVED TOWARD THE CLOSEDPOSITION, MOST FLUID IS FORCED THROUGH SAID RESTRICTION, WHEREAS WHENTHE PRESSURE MEMBER MOVES AWAY FROM SAID RESTRICTION WHEN THE DOOR ISMOVED TOWARD THE OPEN POSITION, FLUID FORCED THROUGH THE TUBE BY SAIDPRESSURE MEMBER HAS A GREATER TENDENCY TO EXPAND THAT PORTION OF SAIDTUBE BETWEEN THE PRESSURE MEMBER AND SAID RESTRICTION IN SAID ONEDIRECTION AROUND SAID TUBE TO PROVIDE LESS RESISTANCE TO MOVEMENT OF THEDOOR WHEN BEING OPENED THAN WHEN BEING CLOSED.